Since J. Jesus de la Riva arrived in Southern California for a visit nearly two weeks ago, the phone hasn't stopped ringing. The visiting schoolteacher from the Mexican state of Zacatecas has received a nonstop barrage of invitations to outings and to the homes of friends and relatives, all of them immigrants from his hometown of Luis Moya. "It's like I never left home," said De la Riva, 40, who is staying with a sister in Orange County. "It turns out I'm related to half of Santa Ana."

Since J. Jesus de la Riva arrived in Southern California for a visit nearly two weeks ago, the phone hasn't stopped ringing. The visiting schoolteacher from the Mexican state of Zacatecas has received a nonstop barrage of invitations to outings and to the homes of friends and relatives, all of them immigrants from his hometown of Luis Moya. "It's like I never left home," said De la Riva, 40, who is staying with a sister in Orange County. "It turns out I'm related to half of Santa Ana."

Late at night, when the sky seems ominous and Fabiola Saavedra is curled up in bed lost in the past, her head fills with images of frantic searches down dark alleys, fliers posted in store windows and Polaroids of a lifeless face. By morning, the ghosts are gone and Fabiola, 32, wakes up, kisses her husband and drives her two children to school. She heads to her job as a case manager at a senior citizens' care center, where she greets clients and laughs loud and smiles big and makes lunch plans.

Hector Gonzalez remembers the annual Posada in his hometown of Zacatecas, Mexico. The entire town would join the procession with music, candles and flowers, following Mary and Joseph as they searched for shelter. Now Gonzalez, a restaurant owner and 25-year resident of Placentia, is hoping to establish the tradition here. Monday, Latino-owned businesses in Old Town Placentia will host the second annual Posada in the 100 and 200 blocks of Santa Fe Avenue, 5:30 to 8 p.m.

Mervyn Penniston of Trinidad and Jaime De La Torre of Zacatecas, Mexico, will fight for the WBC Latin American-Caribbean super-middleweight championship on Sept. 16 at the Castaic Brick Yard. Penniston and De La Torre, who trains out of El Monte, each have seven knockouts. Two experienced lightweights, Justin Juuko of Masaka, Uganda, and Alejandro Jiminez of Canoga Park, will meet in an eight-round bout.

Carlos E. Limon of Camarillo, a church gardener, died Saturday at his home with his family at his side. He was 76. He was born Nov. 3, 1923, in Moyahua, Zacatecas, Mexico, and lived in Ventura County for 43 years. Limon was a gardener at St. Mary Magdalen Church and School in Camarillo for nearly 20 years. For the past 10 years, he was gardener for Padre Serra parish in Camarillo. Family members said Limon always had a positive attitude, warm heart, great sense of humor and a beautiful smile.

Tomasita Frutos Ulloa, an 83-year resident of Ventura County, died on her birthday Monday following a brief illness. She was 86. Ulloa was born Dec. 29, 1911, in Zacatecas, Mexico. Her family moved to Ventura County when she was 3 and settled in Santa Paula. Ulloa, a member of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Santa Paula, was a homemaker. She also loved to travel and counted Hawaii and Las Vegas among her favorite spots. She was planning a trip to Rome when she was taken ill.

Lifelong Ventura County resident Jose "Chavalo" Alamillo, a retired concrete worker, died Tuesday at Twin Pines Healthcare Center in Santa Paula. He was 83. Alamillo was born Sept. 18, 1916, in Zacatecas, Mexico, and moved to Saticoy when he was 2 months old. He worked many years with concrete and belonged to Laborers International Union of North America Local 585 in Ventura. Alamillo's son, Ernest of Oxnard, said his father enjoyed playing baseball and also taught his sons to play.

11am Art More than 30 abstract paintings by Javier Cortez Martinez of Zacatecas, Mexico, emphasizing the evolutionary cycle of life, death and rebirth are on view at the Boudreau-Ruiz Gallery in Newport Beach. The works follow the theme "Cera y Ceriza" or "Wax and Ashes." The artist uses nature's cast-off materials of leaves, dust or paper bonded together by layers of wax and painted in black, blues and iridescent colors.

Guadalupe Hernandez Aguirre, a former Santa Paula grocery store owner, died Tuesday at the age of 93. She was born Dec. 12, 1905, in Zacatecas, Mexico. She married Pedro Sandoval Aguirre, and they moved to Rancho Sespe about 1920. They purchased property in Santa Paula about 1939, and it was there that they raised their five children. In 1945, she bought a neighborhood grocery store, which she later gave to her son, Don.